Andrews must act

Middle Gorge issue

LOCAL groups have combined to send a combined community letter to the Premier, Daniel Andrews, regarding the renaming of Marymede Station on the Mernda railway extension project.

As reported in last week’s Whittlesea Review the community has shown its strong disapproval for the new name of Middle Gorge and has decided to take the matter directly to Spring Street.

The letter co-signed by the South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance, Friends of South Morang, Public Transport Users Association and Neil Johnson, Lost Mernda Historical Group and Dr Crystal Legacy, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning School of Design, University of Melbourne calls the premier to take action on the issue.

In their introduction the signatories noted that North Melbourne Station will soon be renamed West Melbourne Station to better reflect where it is located.

“It is in this spirit that we write to you, for when you alight at a station, that’s where you would expect to be,” the authors noted.

While praising the ‘exceptional progress’ being made on the construction of the Mernda railway extension project, the consortium made its concerns known over the re-naming of Marymede Rail Station to Middle Gorge.

“As you are aware, the choice of the name ‘Middle Gorge’ has caused major protest among the great majority of residents due to the fact that the location is several kilometres from the station.

The consortium has also expressed its concern that there was no community consultation about the name Middle Gorge.

“There have been many public information sessions and at not one of them has it been said that Marymede would be renamed. Even our member contacts on the Mernda Rail Community Reference Group have confirmed that no name change was discussed during any meetings,” South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance spokesperson, Darren Peters said.

The consortium closed the letter with the wish that Mr Andrews can ‘come to the rescue’ and show the community that he is willing to listen.

The Whittlesea Review contacted the office of Member for Yan Yean, Danielle Green and was told that Marymede was only an ‘interim name’.

The office the Member for Mill Park Lily D’Ambrosio. Ms D’Ambrosio responded. “The naming of the train stations must follow particular protocols. They cannot be named after people or businesses as this could be seen as promotional,” she said.

“I am confident our community will understand and accept the rationale and will enjoy this fantastic new project.”